“I have final say!”

The new film Saving Mr. Banks has to be one of the best stories as well as one of the best told stories of 2013’s filmography. Centered on P.L. Travers, author of “Mary Poppins,” Saving Mr. Banks is a touching, intriguing, and altogether wonderful film that delves deep into the psychology of Travers and reveals to those in the audience what a drawn out ordeal bringing Mary Poppins to the screen was, but also, more importantly, why.

Emma Thompson stars as the delightfully bitter, stubborn, and brilliant P.L. Travers, who seems to have an iron based determination to not only deny Walt Disney the rights to her beloved book, but to ensure that all involved be made aware of how ridiculous of an idea it was to bring her all the way out to L.A. While it seems that nothing will change her mind, Walt, not Mr. Disney, has a determination of his own, bound by a promise he made to his daughters, to bring Mary Poppins to life, though after their first meeting it seems all too apparent that no amount of his charm or cheer can soften this woman’s heart. What exactly in this woman’s past brought her to or made her like this?

Through a series of flashbacks we see Travers as a young girl; she is a dreamer at the best of times, though in her role as what must be the oldest of her siblings, she’s also equipped with a good handle on reality. This is where the story reveals itself as masterfully crafted, as with each flashback into Travers’ past they become more emotionally straining, which in turn more comprehensively reveals why Travers is so greatly struggling with the prospective production of her book. Walking hand in hand with Emma Thompson’s talent, we see just how alone P.L. Travers felt, how in spite of her somewhat abrasive mannerisms that beneath this is a somber as well as tender soul. She’s bound by her past and in turn tragically cannot look beyond it.

All this drama which emanates from Travers clashes in a brilliant manner with the high spiritedness of Walt Disney as well as with the cheery and charming Sherman brothers, making for what are several humorous encounters. The movie knows it ground and knows how to balance the two accordingly, which in turn obviously lightens the often sober mood created by Travers’ flashbacks. Not only do we learn about her but we learn about her entire family, and how they influenced her into the woman she would become. Not only that, but it’s also apparent at just how much she influences those in her family. The movie conveys how in the eyes of a child the world is a rather complicated place, yet not so complicated that even at a young age one can learn about the realities of life.

You see that her childhood was troubled. Her family had little money, a house too small, her father attempted to cover his many problems at work as well as his health with drinking, and her mother felt her role was insignificant compared to her husband’s. I’ve often heard that writers are people who grow up sooner than their peers, who are often quiet and often without display or fanfare silently observe the world around them. In Travers’ case, that world was her family, her home, and this in turn would be the foundation for her beloved “Mary Poppins.” Simply put, “Mary Poppins” was written by P.L. Travers, and is about Travers’ life, and Mr. George Banks is the star.

Saving Mr. Banks is a film whose story has the ability to speak to everyone, as like Walt Disney explains in conversation with Travers, he too has a Mr. Banks in his life. The implication of course is that we all do, and after seeing the film I think that’s probably true. It’s a story about the people in our lives, and more specifically those whom we are close with, and even more specifically that one person with whom we are closest, and then of course it conveys what we mean to that person, and what they mean to us. Whether or not you and that person are related, or even fictitious, you’re family. This is what makes this a beautiful story, the emphasis on and meaning of the word family, how we protect and care those whom we consider family, and how much they mean to us.

I would have been skeptical if this was just a movie about how a movie was made, but Saving Mr. Banks is about why a movie was made, what it meant to all involved, and how it ended up changing the life of author P.L. Travers.